Hess Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:HES)

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 9,770 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 82% compared to the average daily volume of 5,371 put options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $153,480.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,257,071.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total value of $10,777,604.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 138,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,234,794.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $153,480.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,257,071.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166 over the last quarter. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Hess in the third quarter worth $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HES has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Friday, May 3rd. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Susquehanna upped their target price on Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.42.

Hess Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of HES opened at $157.66 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.99. Hess has a one year low of $124.27 and a one year high of $167.75. The company has a market capitalization of $48.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.14 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $1.43. Hess had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 17.41%. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 36.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hess will post 9.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 26.80%.

Hess Company Profile

Hess Corporation, an exploration and production company, explores, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Exploration and Production, and Midstream. It conducts production operations primarily in the United States, Guyana, the Malaysia/Thailand Joint Development Area, and Malaysia; and exploration activities principally offshore Guyana, the U.S.